Kwaku Azar Warns Against Threats to Constitutional Democracy

A TikToker's One-Year Sentence for Insulting Mahama Sets Off Alarm Bells Over Constitutional Democracy

Kwaku Azar, a vocal critic of the government, has sounded the alarm over the conviction and one-year sentence of a TikToker for insulting former President Mahama. According to Azar, the move is a threat to constitutional democracy, as it sets a precedent for the prosecution of speech that is deemed vulgar, irresponsible, or false.

The real question, as Azar puts it, is whether speech of this nature should attract criminal prosecution in a constitutional democracy. "A democracy cannot prosecute its way to civility," he argues. "Criminal courts should not become arbiters of taste, manners, or political discourse." Azar emphasizes that public officials, especially the president, must expect criticism, ridicule, exaggeration, and even offensive speech as part of the price of holding public office.

The issue, Azar suggests, is not the speech itself, but rather the collapse of civic standards that should discourage such conduct and deny it legitimacy. He points out that for years, the country has steadily lowered the standards of public discourse, confusing freedom with license, criticism with abuse, and courage with insult. The result is a vicious cycle, where the more outrageous the conduct, the greater the visibility, and the greater the influence. Azar argues that the proper cure is not in the hands of the criminal law, but in the hands of society, which must intervene by ostracizing those who deliberately degrade public discourse.

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Azar also calls for a review and repeal of colonial-era offenses that criminalize expression rather than genuine harm. He believes that a constitutional democracy should not preserve laws enacted to shield rulers from insult or suppress dissent. Parliament should review and repeal these vestiges of colonial legislation so that our laws reflect the values of the 1992 Constitution rather than the anxieties of colonial administration. Law enforcement must also be retrained to distinguish genuine crimes from offensive speech, focusing on combating corruption, looting, violent crime, organized crime, fraud, cybercrime, and other conduct that threatens public safety and the rule of law.

As the country grapples with the implications of the TikToker's sentence, Azar's warning serves as a reminder that the health of a democracy depends on the freedom to express opinions, even those that are unpopular or offensive. The question now is whether the government will take Azar's words to heart and revisit its approach to freedom of expression, or if it will continue down the path of prosecuting speech deemed unacceptable.